CBS wins tug of war for Patriots-Broncos telecast

The NFL announced today that there will be no changes to the Week 15 schedule, meaning that the coveted New England at Denver game will remain at 4:15 p.m. on CBS.

Published reports indicated that NBC wanted to take the Patriots-Broncos game in place of the scheduled Baltimore at San Diego telecast, per its flex scheduling allowances. CBS, which reported already had protected the N.Y. Jets at Philadelphia game for 4:15, did not want to give up New England-Denver, either.

NBC will keep the Baltimore at San Diego game. Unfortunately for Capital Region fans, the New England at Denver telecast will not be available locally, as WRGB (CBS-6) will show the Jets-Eagles.

11 Responses

I thought for sure that NBC would flex the Pats/Tebows game. It’s clearly the game of the week. That’s a terrible decision. The fans and the ratings will suffer. Pete, is the decision to show the Jets/Eagles on WRGB made locally? If so can you get someone from the station to comment? Or if not perhaps you could offer your insight as to why they might think the Jets/Eagles is more appealing for local NFL fans…

It is ridiculous that CBS was able to protect two games for December 18. And if NE @ DEN is to remain on CBS, then the NYJ @ PHI game should have swapped time slots with WSH @ NYG. NYC would not be affected because there is no doubleheader there because of the Giants being home on the non-doubleheader network. But having the Jets at 1 would allow people in places such as Albany, Hartford, and Providence to watch both the Jets and the Patriots.

@MikeC: NBC wanted to Pats-Broncos game. The Patriots, apparently concerned about a short week that follows (all games in Week 16 are on Christmas Eve), preferred to play at 4:15 EST rather than 8:30 in Week 15. The NFL relented.

WRGB will always show the Jets unless they’re out of the playoff race. I don’t necessarily agree, but the station has been consistent with that the past few years.

Wow, what an atrocious decision by WRGB. This is not a Jets town, it’s a Giants town. AFC allegiance is pretty equally split between Bills/Pats/Jets. There’s no way 2nd place Jets v the 3rd place Eagles is a better game than first place Pats v 1st place Broncos. Especially when you throw in the Tebow angle. Assuming that WRGB made the call figuring that the Pats/Broncos would be flexed to prime time, any chance that they could reverse the decision?

Pete, do the Pats have the right to ask the league not to flex the game because of the shortened week? Seems unfair given the Jets couldn’t veto their Sunday night game vs. New England followed by a Thursday night game 3/4 the way across the country in Denver.

@Al: I believe this was an isolated incident. The Patriots reportedly did pressure the NFL a bit, and owner Robert Kraft has some equity with the league because of his role in ending the lockout. In normal circumstances, unless Fox or CBS has protected a game (I believe they can protect seven per season), the teams usually are stuck in flex situations.

As I recall, the Jets-Patriots was not during the flex period, so that’s an issue with the original schedule. The Jets had a legitimate beef, and I think it’s something the league needs to look at in future scheduling.

That is all true. Krarft’s argument is that the Patriots would lose practically an entire day by playing a night game and not returning to Foxborough until some time Monday morning, where as other road teams would be home Sunday night.

I don’t think area Jets fans should be penalized because of Bob Kraft’s preferential treatment by the NFL. The Jets @ Eagles is a near playoff game for the Jets. Plus quite a few Jets games come down to the wire. The Pats @ Broncos is a game of intrigue but both teams are in good shape for the playoffs. Besides the Broncos inability to pass down field consistently has me thinking Belichick will have a scheme that will stop Tebow. I fear this might be a New England blowout; then we will have to listen Nantz and Simms swoon over Brady. No Thanks!